Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Lately my hubby and I have been so busy trying to get settled into our new home and becoming familiar with Napa that we haven't a lot of free time to just relax and have fun together. Since we've become focused on home restoration and repair we've been looking for interesting local events that might help us with our endeavors as well as get us out of the house.

In the next few months there are two events happening within 80 miles of us that we might attend. The first event is the Eichler Remodeling Faire taking place in Mountain View on May 15th. According to the event site here's what attendees can expect:

"You're invited to Keycon's Eichler Remodeling Faire 2010, a FREE party-themed educational event where Eichler experts help you realize your remodeling dreams! SAVE TIME AND MONEY! Learn about the latest time- and money-saving strategies for KITCHEN, BATHROOM, ADDITION, and WHOLE HOUSE REMODELING! Enjoy complimentary food and beverages and kid-friendly activities!"

Of course we don't actually own an Eichler but according to our home's previous owners our custom built ranch home was "inspired by Eichler designs" and was advertised as such when we bought it. We don't know if we'll be able to make it all the way to Mountain View for the event yet but if we do go we hope that Eichler owners won't thumb their noses at us. At least we can point to the fact that my father in-law owned a beautiful Eichler home! I suspect we'd be able to get some tips and helpful advice for home restoration & repair at the Eichler Remodeling Faire so I'd like to go. More information about the event can be found on their site: Eichler Remodeling Faire 2010.

On June 26th The Sacramento Mid-Century Modern Home Tour takes place which promises to be a lot of fun for anyone interested in mid-century design. Here's the full scoop on the event from their official site:

"On Saturday, June 26, 2010 the Sacramento Mid-Century Modern Home Tour will provide enthusiasts of architecture and design an opportunity to discover what it’s like to live, work and play in more than 15 quintessentially Californian residential and commercial structures built between 1945 and 1970. This year's tour features homes within Sacramento’s South Land Park and adjacent neighborhoods, which contain hundreds of Mid-Century Modern residential and commercial buildings."

This event is a little closer to us so we're seriously considering trying to attend. I'm sure we'll get plenty of design inspiration if we do go. For more information about the event please visit The Sacramento Mid-Century Modern Home Tour site.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Over the weekend my husband and I stopped by Petco to look at kittens and we discovered that a local non-profit animal adoption organization called Whiskers, Tails and Ferals operates out of the store. They help re-home unwanted, ill, abused and feral cats & kittens. They had many adorable older cats that were available for adoption. At the moment our local animal shelters are overwhelmed by the amount of pets being abandoned by their owners due to home foreclosures, job losses, etc. Kittens are easy to find homes for but older cats are often overlooked by potential foster families.

I've been weary of adopting a new pet since the death of our 14 year-old cat Tora last year but my guy absolutely fell in love with Uschi. We ended up adopting her on Sunday and I've fallen in love with her too.

Uschi is 12-18 months old and was found abandoned and alone wandering the streets of downtown Napa. She is one of the sweetest and most loving cats I've ever met. She seems to have some abandonment issues and follows us around from room to room like a puppy. She wants to be held and petted constantly. The poor thing also cries when she's left alone in a room. Hopefully she'll relax soon and get used to her new home. At the moment it's hard to get her to sit still and sleep for any lengthy period of time so snapping a pic of her was hard.

If you're in Northern California and thinking about adopting please consider adopting a pet from Whiskers, Tails and Ferals. Besides the Napa Humane Society, they're the only animal shelter in Napa caring for unwanted animals but they don't have their own shelter yet. If you can help or donate your time or any funds please contact them! More information about the organization can be found here:

Friday, April 9, 2010

I hope everyone enjoyed the recent Easter holiday or as I like to call it, "Bunny & Egg Day." I've been really busy lately but over Easter weekend my guy and I did a little shopping and I thought I'd share some pics of our purchases. But first some background information...

One of the many highlights of becoming a new homeowner is the incredible amount of coupons that arrive in your mailbox after you've moved. I can only assume that real estate agents sell your address for some kind of commission or maybe when you get a new address, phone number, etc. companies now let retailers know? Whatever the case may be, we've been getting a lot of coupons in the mail that offer anything from 10-25% off retail prices at nice shops like Restoration Hardware, West Elm and Crate and Barrel. Most of them come with a letter or gift card that says something like "Hello new home owners! We realize you've just made the biggest purchase you're likely to ever make but we want your business. Please stop by your local "*enter store name here* and spend more money!"

Last Saturday we tried to take advantage of some of these cards. We made a trip to our local Crate and Barrel Outlet where you can find a lot of stuff on sale as well as limited items and damaged merchandise selling well below retail price. While we were there we bought some colorful melamine cups and a set of storage/mixing bowels that we really needed (I love their duel design!). I also fell in love with a really cute serving set that I'd like to purchase sooner or later.

About Mid-Century Living

Welcome to Mid-Century Living! My name is Kimberly and I'm a longtime admirer of mid-century design. My husband and I recently bought our first home and it's a beautiful old custom built 1954 atomic ranch house in Napa, CA. I plan to share my adventures in home restoration and remodeling as well as various decorating tips, gardening and landscaping ideas, recipes and anything else that falls under the banner of "Mid-Century" or "Living." I'll also be writing about local issues and various things that interest me as a new home owner. I hope you'll enjoy your stop here!